Using OneDrive

Last updated on August 20, 2015

OneDrive is a cloud service that provides 7GB* of free storage to consumers. Anyone with an outlook.com email address or Microsoft account also has at least 7GB of OneDrive storage. Storage will be unlimited to all Office 365 subscribers soon. OneDrive features integration with Microsoft Windows and various Microsoft services. You can store and edit virtually any filetype in OneDrive using the OneDrive app for iOS, Android, or Windows/Windows Phone. A number of mobile and desktop apps also integrate with OneDrive, including iAnnotate for iPad.

iAnnotate supports integration with OneDrive*. A connection between iAnnotate and your OneDrive account allows you to browse your entire OneDrive folder structure from the iAnnotate library, select and download documents and folders, and upload documents back to OneDrive after you have marked them up. However, it does not allow you to actually modify or reorganize how your OneDrive is set up, with the exception of moving or copying documents from iAnnotate to your OneDrive account.
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Connecting to OneDrive

Navigate to your document library (by tapping the Library button in the upper left of your screen) then tap Connections in the leftside navigation panel. Select "Add OneDrive" and enter a description (defaults to "OneDrive"). Enter your OneDrive username, typically your email address, then tap "Set Up Connection." Choose "Read Only" if you want to use the connection to import files but wish to disable syncing annotated files back to your OneDrive account. With this option turned on, your annotations will only be saved to your iPad and not backed up to OneDrive.

Now find the new OneDrive connection icon in your Library; the icon will initially appear faded meaning you have not downloaded anything from it yet. Tap the icon to continue the setup process. Your username will already be entered (if you've made a mistake and mistyped this, you will need to delete this connection and make a new one: usernames cannot be edited in the authorization window). Enter your password when prompted and tap "Sign in." You will then be asked to allow iAnnotate access to your OneDrive contents.

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Downloading and Managing Files

The connection between OneDrive and iAnnotate lets you download documents in PDF, DOC, GIF, JPEG, PNG, or PPT format. Tap on a document to download it, or select multiple documents and tap Download in the Library sidebar.

Upon modifying a document from within the OneDrive connection, the sync icon in the upper-right of your screen will turn red to indicate there are un-synced changes. Tap the sync icon to upload the changes back to OneDrive immediately; changes are uploaded automatically when you close the document tab.

Deleting any document from iAnnotate does not also delete it from your remote OneDrive account. The document would still exist in OneDrive, in its most recently modified and synced version.

You can move local documents into your OneDrive account from iAnnotate. To do so, tap and hold a document in the iAnnotate Library, then tap Move and select OneDrive from the list of target folder options. Alternatively, you can select multiple documents using the selection circles next to them, then tap "Move" in the Actions accordion at the left of the Library. However, you can not move whole folders into OneDrive within iAnnotate.

You can also copy a document from your OneDrive account into local storage on your iPad. To do so, tap and hold a document in your OneDrive folder within the iAnnotate Library, then tap "Copy" and select Local Files from the list of target folder options. This creates a copy of your document that isn’t synced to your OneDrive account.
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Viewing Markups Sent to OneDrive

When iAnnotate syncs with OneDrive, it sends the marked-up documents as annotated (non-flattened) copies, meaning that their markups are not compressed into the document but rather occupy a “layer” on top of it. As such, they are best viewed in compatible Mac/PC programs like Preview or Adobe Acrobat/Reader. Editable annotations will not be viewable in most mobile (iPhone/iPad/Android) apps, web browsers, or on the OneDrive website.

For broader compatibility, use the "Flatten PDF" button in the Library to create a copy with the annotations compressed into the document.
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Known Issues with OneDrive

Currently, OneDrive for Business is not supported by iAnnotate. Only the consumer version of OneDrive is supported.

If you attempt to upload or sync a file to OneDrive that is greater than 100 MB, you will receive a 413 error. This limit is imposed on third-party developers by Microsoft and their OneDrive API. Until Microsoft reviews their limitations and makes modifications, you will not be able to upload files that exceed 100 MB using third-party connections like the one in iAnnotate.